There are a number of starting points for understanding Plath's poetry. I thought it'd be a good idea to start by thinking about her vocabulary.
Take the time to read through all the poems and highlight any words or phrases that you think need special attention for some reason or another. This might be because the words are repeated in several poems, or because they are particularly shocking or vivid or unexpected.
You can add your own thoughts by editing this page.
Thought One
As a possible discussion topic, I have taken a quote from Plath herself.
"Poetry, I feel, is a tyrannical discipline, you've got to go so far, so fast, in such a small space that you've just got to burn away all the peripherals" (Sylvia Plath, interviewed for The Poet Speaks: Orr, P. (ed.), The Poet Speaks (Routledge and Kegan Paul,1966), p. 171)
I'd like you to think about the following:
Plath was bemoaning the fact that poetry by virtue of its length, has no room for the leisurely description enjoyed by novelists... that her poetry was effectively pruned back to the absolute essentials required to convey her thoughts.
How would you support this statement with regards to the poems you have looked at so far?
Table of Contents
Thoughts
There are a number of starting points for understanding Plath's poetry. I thought it'd be a good idea to start by thinking about her vocabulary.Take the time to read through all the poems and highlight any words or phrases that you think need special attention for some reason or another. This might be because the words are repeated in several poems, or because they are particularly shocking or vivid or unexpected.
You can add your own thoughts by editing this page.
Thought One
As a possible discussion topic, I have taken a quote from Plath herself."Poetry, I feel, is a tyrannical discipline, you've got to go so far, so fast, in such a small space that you've just got to burn away all the peripherals"
(Sylvia Plath, interviewed for The Poet Speaks: Orr, P. (ed.), The Poet Speaks (Routledge and Kegan Paul,1966), p. 171)
I'd like you to think about the following:
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